Bare bottom and sumpless?

Mark Bianco · 11/23/2017, 07:01 AM

Been keeping tanks for over 25 yrs on and off. I have always used a mix of sand and crushed coral and its worked well for me. I have always liked the look of a bare bottom minimal rockscape as well. The tank I am thinking of starting is something in the 20 to 30 gl range mixed reef and will be using a hob filter / skimmer combination and perhaps only 15 to lbs of rock.

From the limited research I have found for every success story I read there seems to be two horror stories. I was wondering if anyone would care to share their experience both good and bad.

Thanks in advance
Mark

rffanat1c · 11/23/2017, 02:15 PM

I can give you what I found. Running bare bottom it was super easy to keep clean. Think of dog hair collecting in the same spot and just sucking it up with a vacuum cleaner. Rocks stayed put with no issues and it worked well for flow with no sand to kick up.

However, while bare bottom, I got no growth out of my LPS corals or softies. Also couldn't have some wrasses or pistol shrimp or some gobies. I painted the underside of my tank a light tan and it was a nice illusion something was there.

I'm not quite sure if adding sand made the difference in my coral growth or the age of my tank. Tank was about 1 year old when I added sand and after that I've always had sand.

11/23/2017, 07:01 AM	#1
Mark Bianco In Memoriam Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Infinity and Beyond Posts: 2,445	Bare bottom and sumpless? Been keeping tanks for over 25 yrs on and off. I have always used a mix of sand and crushed coral and its worked well for me. I have always liked the look of a bare bottom minimal rockscape as well. The tank I am thinking of starting is something in the 20 to 30 gl range mixed reef and will be using a hob filter / skimmer combination and perhaps only 15 to lbs of rock. From the limited research I have found for every success story I read there seems to be two horror stories. I was wondering if anyone would care to share their experience both good and bad. Thanks in advance Mark

11/23/2017, 02:15 PM	#2
rffanat1c Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Kenosha, WI Posts: 693	I can give you what I found. Running bare bottom it was super easy to keep clean. Think of dog hair collecting in the same spot and just sucking it up with a vacuum cleaner. Rocks stayed put with no issues and it worked well for flow with no sand to kick up. However, while bare bottom, I got no growth out of my LPS corals or softies. Also couldn't have some wrasses or pistol shrimp or some gobies. I painted the underside of my tank a light tan and it was a nice illusion something was there. I'm not quite sure if adding sand made the difference in my coral growth or the age of my tank. Tank was about 1 year old when I added sand and after that I've always had sand.